


What Do Beasts Do?

by awerewolf



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Cunnilingus, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Frottage, Oral Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, feral dimitri FUCKS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-10-06 05:34:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20501729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awerewolf/pseuds/awerewolf
Summary: Dimitri and Byleth reunite in the Goddess Tower, and Dimitri devours her.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i decided to be nasty

Byleth’s boots squished awkwardly with each step she took. It hadn’t been very long since a kind stranger had pulled her from the river that flowed out downstream of the monastery ruins. Her clothes were still soaked and her boots were full of water, but she didn’t have time to stop and dry off.

The stranger had mentioned the millennium festival, and she had promised her students she would be there. She had to investigate the truth of the time that had passed, and see the ruins with her own eyes, and her promise… If she was the only one there, then so be it. She had made a promise to them, and they were the very first friends she had truly had in her life, so she could not stand the thought of breaking it.

The darkness of night covered Garreg Mach like a dusty cloak, but one look and she knew the stranger had spoken the truth. The walls had broken open, the boulders and other large items launched by enemy trebuchet still laying among the crumbled bricks. Windows had broken, and the shattered glass no longer remained. The stray dogs and cats that once wandered around the monastery, begging for a scrap or a quick pat on the head, now looked at her with wary eyes and fled upon her approach.

Growing up with her father, among his mercenary group, they had never stayed in one place long. Not until Garreg Mach. Jeralt had not truly wanted to settle there, and Byleth had trusted his trepidation, but after some time she found herself relaxing. She was not entirely sure when it had happened but Garreg Mach became home to her. That feeling became reinforced after the death of her father, who she had always followed without question. There was nowhere else to go, and nowhere else she would rather be.

To see Garreg Mach in ruins, its once bustling halls deserted and desolate, was painful. She did not even have the comfort of Sothis’ voice, whispering in the back of her head, feeling everything she was feeling. She was truly alone.

She sat on the stairs leading up from what was once the market to the reception hall. She was quickly overcome with helplessness. What would she do if no one showed up? Would she live here, in these ruins, alone? She knew no one else, and if it had truly been so long, she did not know where to find her former students.

She took a few deep breaths, and felt a gust of wind blow through, chilling her to the bone. Her coat was soaked and would offer no warmth or protection. She realized that she must head inside, in hopes of finding protection from the cold. However, that hope was short lived. The lower levels of the monastery were in poor shape. The cold winds were easily able to find their way in through numerous broken windows and walls.

The cathedral was in even worse shape. Half of the roof had collapsed, and the debris had buried the altar at which the churchgoers once worshiped. The pews were in poor shape, likely not fit to sit in anymore, and precious items such as candelabras and lanterns had been looted. The only thing that remained were the statues of the four saints, likely due to them being too large to steal. Their eyes stared down, judging… even Saint Cethleann’s kind face had eyes full of judgement.

Another gust of wind blew through, and she shivered. She would go to the stables if she must but… She looked up at the Goddess Tower, which was- miraculously- in one piece. It was only when she stepped around the pews to make her way there that she spotted the first corpse.

Byleth had seen many dead men in her life, and she knew a corpse when she saw one. She turned him over, curious, and saw he had the tip of his own lance had broken off in his throat. The poor fool had let himself get disarmed, and then was killed with his own weapon. There was another corpse nearby, and another, and another, like some twisted trail of breadcrumbs leading straight up to the Goddess Tower.

Her boots were still wet as she climbed the spiral staircase, unsure of what she would find at the top. It was unlikely that she would find something as simple as a bear, or even a demonic beast. No, a human, perhaps more than one, had killed all these men. Considering how all of the corpses wore Imperial colors, she hoped they would be an ally.

She took the final step, easily avoiding a slashed open soldier, and looked at who was waiting for her at the top. Had she not known him so well, she would not have recognized him.

It was he that she was last in the Goddess Tower with. He had made her feel odd and emotional. He evoked feelings of loyalty in her that she had only felt for her father before. She knew not what to make of these emotions, and wondered if it was because he was a prince and would soon be a king. She wondered if these were feelings of fealty, but that didn’t seem entirely right. When he had told her that he wished that they could be together forever, her heart had squeezed so hard in her chest that she even heard Sothis’ sharp intake of breath. A few moments later, he took it back, saying he was only joking, and Byleth was quick to tell him how cruel that was. The jittering excitement in her chest had turned to stone and sunk down into her belly, making her feel nauseated. He apologized sweetly, but she was left feeling the fool. She might be a teacher, and he a student, but he was also a prince, and she was a commoner. No matter how many times she taught him to swing a lance, he would always be above her.

And yet, to see him, all these years later, in the Goddess Tower, he was not the same boy that teased her for her smiles. He had grown significantly taller and wider, but he was haggard. His hair was long and unkempt. His eyes- the trait that helped her recognize him best- and one was gone. Not only that but the _look_ in them…

And now those eyes were fixed on her.

“You.” Dimitri said. His voice was much like the rest of him, rougher than she remembered.

“Yes.” She took another step forward.

“I see ghosts every day, every hour. I have yet to see yours until now.” He grimaced. “Is it because I came to this place? Is it because of the memories here?”

“I am no ghost.” She crossed to him. A beam of light cut in from the still-intact window as the sun rose. “Not unless I always have been.”

She offered her hand and he pushed it away, standing on his own. “Then perhaps it’s true that you always were one. I suppose that explains many things about you. Your quiet nature, your lack of emotion, your ability to appear as if by magic.”

“Petra said something similar once, although she suggested that I could fly.”

He did not smile. Instead, he reached out and grasped her arm. “The others could see you. Although, perhaps you still are a sort of specter…”

“I was only teasing you, Dimitri. I do not believe I am a ghost, not any more than I believe you are one.” She laid her hand over his and he pulled away.

“The time for teasing is done.” His eyes were sharp as he looked at her. Mean. “I am no longer the Dimitri you knew. Perhaps I am not a ghost, but I am a beast now. A Monster. No different than Miklan.”

“That is not true.” Byleth shook her head. “I don’t know what you think, but Miklan turned into a beast because he was crestless and was corrupted by a relic. You have a crest, and you have not transformed.”

“But I have, in my own way.” He stepped closer to her, pushing her back against a nearby pillar. “I have likely killed more men than Miklan had laid eyes on in his whole life. Those soldiers you passed by on your way here were mere child’s play. I killed them and I didn’t think anything. I didn’t feel anything.”

“And you think I haven’t done the same?” She schooled her face back into practiced stoicism, into the everlasting comfort of emotionlessness, and stared back at Dimitri’s intensifying frown. He reached his arm up, laying his palm beside her head and trapping her on that side.

“Tell me, what do beasts do?” He asks, his voice taking an eerie calm.

“They kill.” Byleth answers simply. “They are terrifying.”

“I have killed, you know that.” Dimitri leans in closer, his belly pressing against hers. “Do I terrify you?”

“No.”

He allows a small, rueful smile. “I thought so. I do not think I have ever seen you frightened. But I terrify others. I’ve heard what they call me- The One-Eyed Demon…” He looks down at her. “They used to call you the Ashen Demon. I suppose that’s another thing we have in common.”

She always hated that nickname. She turned her head away, but his other hand came up, quick and ungentle, under her jaw to turn her face back to his.

“What else do beasts do?” He asked.

She looked up at him. “They eat people.”

He threw back his head and laughed. It was a laugh she’d never heard from him before. When he stopped, he looked back at her, and while the look in his eyes was not a look of kindness- she did not know quite how to feel about it.

“You’re right.” He said, his hand releasing her jaw and sliding down her front to her bare belly. His head pressed near hers and his breath was hot in her ear. “They do.”

She gasped as his cold gauntlet touched the skin of her stomach, and her hands went up to grip his shoulders, unsure what else to do. He removed his hand from beside her head for a moment to pull his gauntlets off before returning his hand to her stomach. His flesh was infinitely warmer than hers, and she wondered how long he’d been sitting in the tower. Those thoughts were short lived as his fingers slipped down into her shorts and did not waste time finding their way between her legs.

She gasped, gripping his shoulders harder, and he used his other hand to grab her leg, opening her more for him. Two warm fingers barely brushed against her clit, and she closed her eyes, her head rolling back against the pillar behind her. She heard him scoff in her ear as his fingers found their way back to her entrance, rubbing back and forth in the most frustrating way, never dipping in.

She was shaking, and her breath was coming out hard. This was all so fast, and she’d never done anything like this before with another person. The chill on her body was nearly gone, and now she felt pressure building in her head.

She was stuttering something, she didn’t know what, when Dimitri pulled his hand away and out of her shorts entirely. Before she could catch her breath, he’d pulled her shorts around her ankles and forced her foot up to remove them entirely. She was wearing only her tights and panties underneath, and his gaze cut into her like a hot knife.

He put a hand on each ankle and ran them up the length of her legs, feeling every inch of her flesh through her tights, until he got to the top. There, he pulled her tights and underwear down together. Those weren’t coming off without removing her boots, and he did not take the time to do so.

Byleth felt unbalanced for a moment as he lifted her, throwing her knees over his shoulders and holding her to the pillar with his hands under her bottom. She knew Dimitri had superhuman strength but being held like that was not the most comfortable position. Before she had time to complain, he used his thumbs to spread her lower lips and she felt him exhale across her slit.

He only gave her a moment, but not enough to form a coherent thought, before his tongue drug across her entrance like his fingers had before. Her hands instantly went to his hair, clenching as she couldn’t hold back a groan. She was shocked by his answering moan until his tongue ran over her again, and again, dozens of times until she felt like she couldn’t stand it anymore.

Finally, his mouth moved up to her clit, sealing over it and sucking gently. Byleth couldn’t stop squeezing his hair. She could hardly breathe. He adjusted one of his hands and she felt a finger push into her, gently at first, and then hard and deep. He stopped sucking and simply laved at her. His eye caught hers, once, only for a moment, before he dived back inbetween her legs, his tongue swirling around her clit while he shoved another finger in alongside the first.

Stars burst in front of her eyes until she could no longer keep them open. She clenched her fingers in his hair so hard he let out a little grunt of pain. Her hips tilted forward desperately against his mouth and fingers, which didn’t slow until she did.

As she tried to catch her breath, Dimitri removed himself from between her legs, roughly pulling her leggings and underwear back up and handing her back her shorts. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and simply watched as she pulled her shorts back on, having to hold herself against the pillar to account for her wobbly legs.

“Dimitri- What…” She smoothed down her rumpled clothes, trying to think over her words. “What was that?”

He simply shrugged and wandered over to the window where daylight was pouring in.

“You can clean yourself up if you prefer. The facilities here still function.” He turned back to her; eyes sharp again. “But once you have finished, return to me. There are rats surrounding this monastery, and I am in the mood to kill something.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ask and ye shall receive, here's a follow up

It had only been a few days since the return of most of Byleth’s former students to the ruin that was once Garreg Mach. Gilbert insisted that once word got out, and the majority of the Knights of Seiros and the Kingdom’s Army returned to the fold, that more would return. Byleth was inclined to agree. While only her original Blue Lions had returned to her side, she was certain the students from other houses who had joined later, and perhaps some who did not, may come to their aid.

She hoped that Claude would reach out a hand in friendship to them but kept that hope to herself. She knew it was a slim hope, seeing as Claude was busy enough juggling the problems within his own territory, and she knew Dimitri would have nothing good to say about it.

Dimitri’s state of mind worried and confused her. She did not know what to make of what had happened between them in the Goddess Tower, and she went over the scene in her mind dozens of times. It did not entirely seem like he was trying to intimidate her, and the entire act seemed to be for her benefit only in terms of pleasure. Even so, she tried not to think about it so often. She was worried someone would notice the flush on her cheeks or the way her fists clenched tightly at her sides, nails biting into her palms.

She had only just finished helping Annette and Ashe clear out what was once the dining hall. They had moved the rubble and debris outside, covered the broken windows, and swept the floors. However, it was a massive effort with such a small party and it took the majority of the day. The sun had just finished dipping under the horizon as she said her farewells to the two. As she walked back towards the dormitories, she heard Annette roping Ashe into joining her and Mercedes in a hunt for snacks in the market next day, and smiled to herself at the unchanging nature of her dear friends.

She arrived at her old room, which had been ransacked and dusty when she had first returned. Her old clothes were missing from where she had laid them across her bed. They had been terribly torn and tattered, and she asked Mercedes to mend them for her. Mercedes must have picked them up sometime during the day. Byleth had been made to wear the only clothing item left in her old room- the old school uniform she had received upon first joining the Officer’s Academy. She did not mind it, although it felt awkward wearing it around when Garreg Mach no longer functioned as a school.

She noticed the smoke pouring out of the chimneys above the sauna. They had still been functioning, as Dimitri had mentioned. She had examined them before, and they were powered by some sort of old magic. The magic lit the fires whenever the heat started to recede, making sure the steam was running for the sauna and the water was hot for the baths. Byleth felt the cold tinge of the sweat on her body as she pulled off her coat, and, as tired as she was, did not want to crawl into her bed in such a state.

She did not anticipate finding anyone in the baths area of the sauna. After all, Garreg Mach was populated by less than ten people at that moment, so the grounds remained rather lonely. So, when she closed the door behind her, and heard Dimitri’s voice call out through the thick steam, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Ah, my apologies.” She said quickly, turning and noticing the thick brick wall of his bare back as he sat on the edge of the baths. The bath was large and deep, set into the ground and surrounded by smooth white and blue stones. Dimitri had nearly overfilled it, and steam rose thickly from the top of it, both from the heat of the water and the contrast to the bite of the chill that had entered from outside. “I did not realize someone else was in here…”

Dimitri did not turn to look at her. “I abandoned any embarrassment over my body long ago.” She saw him slip himself off of the edge to sit inside the bath on a jutting marble structure that functioned as a bench.

“I should go.” She said.

“No.” His tone left little room for argument. “This place was not meant to be used by a single person only.”

She was silent for a moment, before sighing. “Alright.” She pulled off her boots and socks, walking over to the edge to put only her feet in the water. It was very hot, but she had always enjoyed her bathwater near scalding. She was not yet comfortable enough to undress herself around him, despite what had happened between them before.

She looked around the room a bit, noticing his armor and cloak had been thrown carelessly in the corner. Surprisingly, she saw his eyepatch sitting atop of it all. She turned to him. “I must admit, I’m surprised to see you here. I didn’t think you cared about… hygiene anymore.”

He scoffed. “Not so much as I used to, no.” He was so still in the water that it barely rippled around him. “Before, I cared quite a bit about how I presented myself. Now, I wash only as my body requires it of me. I do not need something ridiculous like infection or illness getting in the way of my vengeance.”

“I see.” Byleth looked down at the rippling view of her feet against the smooth marble. “I am glad to hear that you are taking care of yourself somewhat.”

He grunted, and then she heard a sudden intake of breath. “Why… are you wearing that?”

Byleth looked over at him. His hair was wet and disheveled, plastered all against his face. “My other clothes are being mended. This is all I have.”

He frowned severely before turning back, staring down at the water. “I always hated it when you wore that.”

Her mouth nearly fell open in shock. “Why?”

“Rhea should have never made you a professor.” He shook his head. “You were severely underqualified. She should have simply let you join the Officer’s Academy as a student.”

His words stung. “I see. I did not realize I did so poorly as a professor.”

“Do not put words in my mouth.” He snapped. “I only said you were underqualified.”

“Underqualified in what way?”

He crossed his arms, leaning back against the back of the baths. “You knew nearly nothing about the world. Jeralt must have been nearly a hermit, raising you as such. You knew nothing about the Church of Seiros, about any of the territories from which the students you taught had come from…” He chuckled ruefully. “You kept giving me homework assignments with Sylvain in order to help me refine our abilities in horsemanship, and yet you never helped us with it yourself. I suspect you’ve never sat a horse in your life.”

Byleth bit her lip. He was right.

“You could only demonstrate certain abilities, but other ones you quickly found ways to find another way to teach us. It was a clever way to adapt, I suppose, and it did help us learn in the end… but that is not what a teacher should do.” His only eye was on her again, his gaze sharp and penetrating even through the hot fog. “Bows, Axes, Heavy Armor, anything to do with riding an animal… I suspect you know very little about it all.”

“A very astute observation.” Byleth replied quietly.

“You’re quite lucky the Sword of the Creator was a sword, the weapon you happen to be most proficient in.” The tip of his mouth quirked up. “Perhaps it truly _was_ fate, then.”

“Despite my… inadequacies, Rhea did not give me much choice when it came to my position within the church.” She was suddenly cold, despite the humidity of the room. “When I was first informed that my father would be joining the knights, but I would be given a position different from the knights, I thought that I might end up being a student as well. I would have preferred it that way. I have always been… outside of everyone else. Giving someone like me, so much younger than the other professors, a teaching position also isolated me. I would never be able to fit in as equals with my peers, and I would never be able to fit in with my coworkers either. I suppose I wore this uniform so that I could feel more normal.”

His hands found her before she even realized he had moved. He pulled her down into the water into his lap as she gasped in surprise, the movement knocking her headband off and somewhere into the bath. Her thighs settled on each side of his, her hands quickly going to his chest to stabilize herself. Sitting in the water so long, he was hotter than a furnace under her fingers. She swallowed hard, looking up into his face.

His missing eye was permanently closed, a ghostly white scar running over the eyelid, but his eyelashes were still thick and dark against his cheek. His good eye held an odd look, softer than she’d seen it in some time. One of his hands reached up, running into the hair near the nape of her neck.

“You should have been a student, Byleth.” She barely registered that it was the first time he had said her name when he sealed his mouth over her own.

His kiss was passionate and eager, and his hand in her hair held her head where he wanted her to be. His tongue ran wet over her bottom lip as he opened his mouth against hers, and he sucked in a deep breath through his nose before his tongue found her own. Once again, she felt hot and overwhelmed. Her hands clenched so tightly, pressed between her chest and his own, that her palms ached. She had an odd, but not painful, feeling in her chest that she did not recognize.

He pulled her head away from his own with a little yank of her hair. A flush sat high on his cheeks and his mouth was wet with their shared saliva. Byleth swallowed hard, reminded of the night in the Goddess Tower. He removed his hand from her hair, the other coming up as they worked to unbutton her white blouse that was soaked through. She placed her hands on his shoulders as he did so, the heat of him relieving the ache in her hands.

Her shirt was soon discarded into the bath, and before she realized it, he had pulled off her brassiere as well, throwing that somewhere into the water. She didn’t have time for embarrassment as he filled his hands with her breasts, giving a firm squeeze as he leaned forward, sealing his mouth against her clavicle and giving a hard suck. She sighed at the sensation, her hands running down his arms and laying over his own as he massaged her chest. A rough thumb ran over her nipple and she hissed, leaning her head back.

His mouth ran up her neck. “Do I make you feel good?” His voice was a hoarse whisper hot over her ear.

“Yes,” She whispered back, nodding. She pushed his hands a little firmer against her breasts. “Yes.”

“Let me hear how.” He left her chest, the loss of his warm hands nearly painful. Instead, they ran down her sides and pulled her legs to the side so he could slip her skirt and underwear off easily. She was breathing heavy, and so was he. When he returned her legs to the sides of his thighs, she felt his erection jutting against her belly.

He slid himself further toward the edge of the seat, leaning back against the edge of the bath, and then pulled her forward. She gasped as she felt him rub the full length of himself between her legs. She looked up at him and the look on his face was dark, one of concentration and something else she did not recognize. He did as he had done in the Goddess Tower, using his thumbs to spread her lips, and then thrust the length of himself up, teasing over her entrance and rubbing against her clit.

Byleth fell against his chest, her face buried in the crook of his neck as she moaned. He adjusted once more, his hands clutching hard at her hips, and thrust her against his cock, which was trapped between her slit and his belly. He did this a few more times, hissing when Byleth’s nails dug into his shoulders, before he paused.

“Why did you let me do that to you in the Goddess Tower?” His voice was strained. She was held tight against him, her clit throbbing almost painfully against the head of his erection.

She sputtered, unable to find her words, and he went on. “You could have stopped me. You could have said for me to stop, or set me on fire with a spell, but you let me devour you. Why?”

“Because I wanted it.” Byleth breathed against his neck. “Because I wanted you.”

Dimitri groaned, an almost pained sound. He leaned her back, one of his hands leaving her hips, before she felt the tip of him at her entrance. He didn’t waste his time, pushing in at a steady pace. Byleth thought she was going to suffocate in the thick fog of the room, huffing against his neck, until she felt her bottom seat against his thighs once again.

He forced her head up for another rough kiss as he thrust up from underneath her, deep and hard. Byleth broke the kiss, unable to stop the noises that escaped her. His hands found her hips again, easily bringing her down to meet his thrusts. The friction against her insides was like the sweetest electricity, and the sounds he was making in her ear made her unconsciously clench around him.

Her head found the crook of his neck again, so she kissed him and ran her hands over his shoulders, unable to do much else. His grip on her hips became surer, and as he pulled her own onto his length, she felt the hair trailing down from his navel brushing against her own belly.

She could hardly stand the sensation of it anymore, although she did not want him to stop. The feeling of him dipping into her, pushing against something so sweetly inside of her finally overwhelmed her and she cried out against his shoulder. Her hands scratching at him again as they desperately tried to find something to grip.

He thrust into her a few more times before he let out a long, choked groan and his head fell to her own shoulder. His wet hair tickled against her neck.

As the feelings of her orgasm ebbed away, Byleth felt on the verge of tears. Being pressed against the solid wall of his chest like this, surrounded by his warmth, his breath calm in her ear… She knew these moments were few and far between. The Dimitri in the Goddess Tower, the Dimitri in the bath, those were not the same man she saw in war council. The moment they exited the building, this man she had grown to love would fall away again. Even if they had another moment to themselves, all they would have was the moment.

“Dimitri…” She was so quiet against his neck. Her fingers massaging into his back. “What does this mean? Why does this keep happening between us?”

He leaned back, away from her shoulder. His look was distant as he gazed up at the ceiling. Any warmth there had fled. Her heart clenched hard, but not the feeling like before.

“I trust you, Professor.” He finally said. “I have little trust left to give, and I give it only to you. Make of that what you will.”

She remained in the bath after he dressed and left and washed his seed from where it was escaping between her thighs. She did not know what to make of his words, but she knew she would walk by his side wherever it led them. Death or glory, she would follow him to the bitter end.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i decided to go ahead and round this off at three parts. here's a finale. 
> 
> btw there's a lil bit of canon typical violence in this one. i don't think it's enough to tag it, though.

It had begun in the Goddess Tower, it had continued in the baths, but what kept happening between Byleth and Dimitri became a habit after fighting off the Imperial forces attempting to invade Garreg Mach for the second time.

Garreg Mach began to gather more soldiers for their fight, and churchgoers returned to worship, it was only natural that the Empire heard of their return as well. Dimitri had been a fugitive for years and was considered a wanted man both on Empire lands and his own former Kingdom, now declared a “Dukedom” under its new rule. Byleth had heard what was said about him, and knew that the Empire was fueling the rumors surrounding Dimitri’s current state to keep the people from joining their side. However, she had heard nothing about herself, although she knew some rumors must be swirling.

Her own students were baffled by her death and return, they had told her as much. How she had spent the last five years frozen in time and returned, completely unaged, was a source of bewilderment to those close to her. She did not know if she could even consider herself older, as she had not aged physically or experienced those missing years at all. Jeralt’s blasé approach to age had left her not knowing her own age up until after his death, but having lived so long believing her date of birth to be something different- It was not something she readily accepted, or was sure she would ever truly accept.

Still, the birthday she believed was hers for years had already passed by the time she returned. With a heavy heart, she remembered the thoughtful note that Dimitri had left on her desk, along with the unique lion brooch with the mark of Garreg Mach’s blacksmith pressed into the back. The brooch had still been pinned on her chest when she awoke, but she did not know what had become of her note.

Dimitri had maintained his coldness, despite all that had happened between them. He paced around the ruined cathedral like a caged animal, lashing out at anyone who stepped too close and keeping the worshippers away. She did not know why he chose the ruined cathedral as his haunt, but that was where he was found.

Gilbert had arranged for the quarters across from the Archbishop’s to be cleared and cleaned out for Dimitri. They were typically used for visiting nobility, and Gilbert thought that they fit his station better than the old dormitory. However, Dimitri seemed to sleep nowhere. The few times he was not in the cathedral, he was nowhere to be found. He was not in his old dorm room, as he had destroyed the furniture within after a particularly trying council. After a short while, he would reappear in the cathedral as if he had never left.

His moods were foul, and grew fouler. Even Byleth could scarcely approach him. She tried bringing him a heel of fresh bread and a cup of fresh water, but he had given her a scathing look before throwing the bread to a nearby stray dog and turning the cup over on the cracked floor.

“If I am hungry, I will feed myself. I do not need you acting the mother hen over me.” His gaze was cutting, and he sneered. “You are no longer my teacher. You are no longer my elder. I have survived without you before.”

Byleth left him alone after that, unsure what else to do. However, the battle had changed pushed something over the edge between the two of them.

Dimitri had cut through his enemies like they were nothing. His strength had grown enormously in the time that she was away, and he had achieved a level of skill that she never would have been able to teach him. He rushed into battle and skewered his enemies, emerging covered only in blood that was not his own.

But then the Imperials set the forests on the outskirts of Garreg Mach ablaze. Byleth had cried out, the Sword of the Creator growing nearly too hot in her grip, and she heard him call out for her. At first, she wondered if she was imagining it, or if it was a memory surfacing in her mind. That was when she saw him at the edge of the flames, wide-eyed and looking around frantically. His gaze filtered quickly over his other allies, only stopping when he finally saw her. She ran toward him. The look of concern only stayed for the barest moment before the fierce look returned.

“You are not allowed to die!” He shouted at her, roughly pulling her away from the flames. “Not until I’m done with you.”

Despite the rapid response of the Imperial army and the clever trick with the fire, the Kingdom army successfully defended the monastery. Once the flames were extinguished, Byleth found herself looking around the survivors for signs of Dimitri. She knew he lived, as he had been with her at the final rush towards the Imperial generals, and she could not imagine one of them cutting him down.

But then she saw him. He had somehow managed to capture Randolph. She did not know how the man had survived the blow she struck against him, but he was alive and breathing in front of Dimitri.

“You’re a killer, just like me.” The point of Dimitri’s spear was dug into the man’s shoulder, and with every denial from Randolph, he leaned forward, digging it in the slightest bit more. “I want you to imagine the first human you killed. Tell me about them, I know you remember their face.”

“Please,” Randolph sobbed. Byleth could see the wound she had given him at his side. Dimitri did not expect this man to live, and he was not keeping him for information. He was toying with him, like a bored cat toys with a mouse.

Byleth reached to her side, to the dagger her father had given her when she was young. Dimitri was an imposing figure, all strength, but he was no match for Byleth’s speed. He had only just noticed her presence when she darted forward and sunk her dagger into Randolph’s neck. He was dead before his body slumped to the ground.

Dimitri looked up at her in shock, and then fury. He pulled the dagger from Randolph’s neck and threw it at her feet.

“I was not finished with him yet.” His voice shook with barely contained fury.

“You were.” Byleth wiped the dagger on her already blood-stained coat before returning it to its sheath.

“No.” Dimitri gritted his teeth. “Who are you to tell me when I’m finished? I told you, you are not my teacher any longer.”

“If you wish for me to treat you like a King, perhaps you should act more noble.”

She could hear his armor creaking with the force of which he clenched his fists. “I do not wish for your _fealty_.”

She stepped toward him, feeling bold. He was so much taller than her, she had to bend her head back to lock eyes with him, but she did not waver. “Then what do you want from me, Dimitri?”

He was breathing heavy. Ash and soot caked his hair and armor. His only remaining eye was wild. A moment passed, and then another, and he snatched her by her elbow, pulling her back into the monastery.

She did not know where he was leading her, but she let herself be led. He had practically dragged her up several flights of stairs before he was throwing open a door across from Rhea’s old room and pushing her inside, following with a slam of the door.

“You were gone.” He panted, throwing his cloak beside the perfectly made bed he had likely never touched. “You were gone.”

He kissed her hard. Her hands went to his hair, pulling lightly as he practically whined into her mouth. He pushed her back on to the bed, crawling on top of her and rolling his tongue in her mouth. He smelled like death and smoke, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

He still had his gauntlets on when he yanked her shorts and tights down to her knees, likely putting runs in her tights in his impatience. He pushed her knees up to her chest and dived between her legs as he had done before. His tongue ran over her slit, wet and hot, and the grip of his armored hands on her thighs were cold and sharp. She trembled at the sensation and moaned helplessly as he sucked roughly at her clit.

It wasn’t long before he sat up, releasing her legs and turning her over on her belly. Her legs dangled over the side of the bed, just a bit too high for her feet to touch the floor. She looked back, watching him pull his erection free from his armor but not bothering to disrobe himself further, before lining himself up with her and thrusting inside.

She choked out a moan, her cheek resting on the soft blanket below her. He was still fully armored, and his gauntlets as well as other sharp parts of his armor pressed into her as he fucked her from behind. Somehow, the thought made her belly feel tight and her legs shake. He gripped her bottom, the cold metal of his armor digging in hard, as he pumped into her without abandon.

She gripped the sheets hard, needing to hold on to something. He managed to find his rhythm, soft grunts falling from his mouth as his armor slammed against her backside. Perhaps it was the leftover tension from battle, but she did not last long. She shuddered out his name, stilling under him as she felt herself release. He followed her, choking out moans as his armor pressed into her back.

He lingered only a moment. She felt the weight of him like a comfort, his long hair brushing against the back of her neck as he leaned over her. Then he stood, tucked himself back into his armor, and left without another word.

It was only after that occurrence that it became a habit.

The next time, he came to her room late at night. Her eyes were bleary with sleep, and she was surprised to see him at her door. At the first indication that he had permission to enter, he closed the door behind himself and had her pressed against it.

Sometimes, he came to her without warning, but he always arrived at her room after a battle. She wondered sometimes if his bloodlust sometimes faded into simple lust, as he pulled his fingers out from where they had been thrusting into her and sucked her essence from them.

He learned how she liked things, and she learned how he liked them too. He liked her fingers in his hair, her nails on his back, and her mouth on his neck. She liked his mouth anywhere, his hot breath as he whispered in her ear, and to be taken steady and deep. She noticed that he tried to remember and repeat whatever got the strongest reaction out of her, because he liked pleasing her too. A long, hoarse moan from her would get a returning one from him.

He used his mouth on her frequently, and once she managed to do the same for him. He was practically hyperventilating as she had sucked on the head of his cock. He had kept his hands away from her hair until the very end, when he pulled her head back and told her to open her mouth, watching— fixated on how his seed spilled on her tongue. It had taken him a while to catch his breath.

He never lingered for long afterwards. He only stayed long enough to dress and compose himself. Even at her most exhausted, she did not manage to fall asleep before he left. Once, she offered for him to stay, and he seemed to consider it for a moment before leaving without a word. She did not ask again.

Dedue returned, and Byleth was happy that her old friend was still among the land of the living. They returned to their silent camaraderie, planting flowers together again in the greenhouse. However, sometimes Dedue cast looks on her that made her wonder if he knew something about her and Dimitri. She did not know if Dimitri had told him, or if he simply knew the two of them well enough to suspect something. Perhaps he had even seen Dimitri leaving her quarters at night. Still, Byleth did not share what happened between the two of them with anyone. She did not begin that with Dedue.

Dimitri had come to her after every battle, but she did not see him after the tragedy that was the Battle at Gronder Field. Truly, she did not know whether or not to expect him. Rodrigue was like a father to him, and he had already lost so much, so the man’s death had hit him extremely hard. She did not know whether he would return to her, seeking some form of comfort, or push her away like he was wont to do.

After having not seen him, either at night or in the Cathedral, for days at a time, Byleth grew worried. She searched the monastery for him and found him one evening at the stables. It was raining and cold, and he was soaked through. He was sitting against the wall in the stall of a mare Rodrigue had gifted him only a few weeks ago- to replace the horse he lost during his exile.

“Dimitri,” Byleth’s voice was soft as she called to him, peeking in the stall. He looked up, his hair plastered to his forehead. “What are you doing here?”

“I cannot stand the pitying looks being cast upon me any longer.” He bit out. He stood, brushing the hay from his trousers. The mare stood next to him, watching with wary eyes. “Rodrigue gave me this horse… I have not named her. I did not even thank him.”

“She’s probably worried she’s going to step on you.” Byleth offered. “She doesn’t have much room with you in there.” Dimitri nodded at that, exiting the stall to stand beside her.

“I want to go to Enbarr.” He paused. “I will go to Enbarr. Tonight. I must end this.”

“Enbarr is a long ride for a single horse in a single night.” Byleth’s hand ran down the horse’s soft face. Despite being a hulking warhorse, she was sweet and calm. Rodrigue had chosen her well. “You will ride this horse to death if you do that, and she will probably fall from underneath you before you even reach Enbarr. That will be a waste of Rodrigue’s gift.”

Dimitri looked down, frowning. “Byleth… I do not know what to do.” His voice shook. “I have lost so much. I have lost everyone I love, at one point or another. Even you who have returned to me, I lost at some point. It weighs on me. It aches… and I still see them.”

“The ghosts?”

“Yes.” Dimitri looked up and forward, as if he was seeing something she could not. “They are all here. Sometimes I see them, other times I only hear them. They whisper to me, demand things, all at once like a pit of vipers.” He brought his fist up to his forehead. “But I love them. My father, my stepmother, my uncle, Glenn… I do not want to let them down. I want to avenge them. I want them to find peace. I want the ghosts to go away.” His voice broke and he turned his head away from her, allowing his hair to fall like a curtain between them. “I can’t continue to live like this. This path of vengeance has to end. I only started it because I thought that if I killed enough, my loved ones would be spared. I was a fool, and I’m still a fool. I don’t know what I have if I don’t have vengeance. I don’t know _who_ I am.”

Her hand went to his, gripping gently. “You are whoever you wish to be. You must decide what you want and point yourself towards that goal. You are in a unique position to achieve things, Dimitri. You are a leader, a King. You can be who you want to be, and achieve whatever ambitions you like, you need only decide upon them. You must live for yourself.”

He picked his head up, his lonely eye looking at her, pleading. “And what of you?”

“I will follow my heart,” Byleth replied. “And as such, I will follow you.”

The next time he came to her, his hands were achingly gentle. He kissed her for what felt like hours before he moved to pull the clothing from her body, and even when they were both bare, did not do more than kiss her sweetly. His mouth moved under her ear, sucking gently, before his hands ran through her hair and she heard him take a deep inhale.

“I love the smell of you.” He murmured in her ear, “I love the feel of your hair, of your skin…” His hands ran down her shoulders, gently cupping her breasts before descending down her belly and finally resting on top of her thighs. His fingers were as gentle as his kisses as his fingers rubbed along her slit, just how she liked. She clung to his shoulders; airy moans muffled in his neck.

“I love the way you sound,” He paused to suck against her neck, his fingers entering her slowly. “and the way you taste.”

“Dimitri, please.” She reached down, pulling his fingers out of her and wrapping her legs around his waist. “I missed you.”

He guided himself into her, pressing her back into the bed. How tall he was made it a bit awkward, her chest pressing against his belly and his head far above her own, but she was so desperate that she wrapped her arms around his middle, thrusting her hips up towards him.

“I missed you.” He huffed, his hands caressing her hips as he pushed into her. “I always miss you.” He leaned down, kissing her deeply. “Goddess, I wish I could breathe you in. I wish I could always feel you.”

She peppered kisses across his chest and shoulders, wherever her mouth found, before reaching her own hands down to his hips, encouraging him to thrust deeper inside of her. He shuddered, pushing her legs open a fraction wider as he thrust into her particularly hard. Her head fell back against the bed, eyes closing as she reveled in the feeling of him inside her.

He thrust like that again, reaching down to circle her clit with his fingers, and she dug her fingernails into his sides as she came. His moan was long and drawn out, his head coming down to the bed alongside her as he spilled himself.

“Stay with me,” She said, after a moment. Her hands caressed his back, feeling every silvery scar leftover from pain he had endured. “Don’t leave this time.”

He rolled beside her, pulling her into his chest and tossing the blankets over the both of them. “I will always stay. I don’t wish to be apart again.”

Byleth brushed her hair away so she could look up at him.

“When the war is over-” He paused. “When it is over, we will have much to discuss. About our futures. About,” She watched his throat bob as he swallowed. “About our future.”

“I will not leave you again, Dimitri.” She promised. “And I know you will not leave me. For now, that is all I need.”

“Yes,” He breathed out in relief and smiled down at her. “That is all I need as well.”

END

**Author's Note:**

> find my tumblr @xseawolf for all your shitposting shenanigans


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